Calling the new Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 a high-performance model may not do the vehicle justice.
Ever since the Detroit giant announced that the latest version of the eight-generation ‘Vette would make over 1,000 hp, enthusiasts have wondered how fast it would be. The automaker estimated it could reach 215 mph, but that number turned out to have been way off the mark.
Chevy has just revealed that the new ZR1’s official top speed is actually 233 mph. The car hit the mark during testing at the High-Speed Oval Track at ATP Automotive Testing in Papenburg, Germany. It is 18 mph faster than the company had expected and makes the variant the fastest Corvette of all time, unseating the C7 ZR1, which had a top speed of 212 mph. It also makes the car the fastest General Motors vehicle of all time and, in case that somehow wasn’t enough, the fastest series production car ever made by an American manufacturer.
Understandably, the automaker is quite proud of the achievement. Tuesday’s announcement was accompanied by a video of the car hitting 233 mph at redline in sixth gear with GM president Mark Reuss in the driver’s seat. The speed wasn’t a fluke, either. Five of the company’s engineers reached 230 mph in the car during testing.
“Oh my god, dude, it makes so much power,” Reuss can be heard saying with a laugh in the clip.
Since the mid-engine C8 debuted in the summer of 2019, Chevy has positioned the latest iteration of its most iconic nameplate as a match for the very best sports cars coming out of Europe—only without the seven-figure price tag. With the new ZR1, it seems that the company has finally delivered on this promise. The range-topping model is the first turbocharged ‘Vette and has a 5.5-liter V-8 that pumps out a ferocious 1,064 horses and 828 ft lbs of twist. There’s no way around it, it is a true speed machine.
The ZR1 is expected to go into production in 2025 and will launch as part of that year’s model class. No price has been announced, but it wouldn’t be a shock if it costs double the current top-of-the-line C8, the hybrid E-Ray, which starts at $106,000.
